Device for transporting and storing yarn bobbins having bobbin tubes

ABSTRACT

An improvement in a device for transporting and storing yarn bobbin tubes arranged on a substantially horizontal pallet. A number of holding elements are mounted on the pallet which have top and bottom protuberances and depressions for centering and supporting the lower and upper end of the bobbin tubes so that a number of pallets having intermediately mounted yarn bobbin can be stacked one upon the other. Each holding element is composed of two holding element parts made of an injectable or pressable plastic material and arranged one above the pallet and one below the pallet. One holding element part is made of a resilient plastic material and has a substantially cylindrical, radially and resiliently compressible shank provided with an inner lock thereon. The other holding element part has a cylindrical opening thereon to receive the shank, the diameter of the opening is less than the maximum diameter of the shank so that the two holding element parts can be pressed together, the shank having the radial compression factor passing through the opening and snapping into engagement with the other holding element part through the aforesaid inner lock.

Ilnited States Patent [191 Neuhert, nee Preischl DEVICE FOR TRANSPORTINGAND STORING YARN ROBBINS HAVING BOBBIN TUBES [76] Inventor: EdeltraudNeubert, nee Preischl,

l-Iauser near 25, 8971 Burgberg/Allgau, Germany [22] Filed: Dec. 10,1970 21 Appl. No.:96,703

[52] 11.8. C1. ..206/65 Y, 214/10.5 R [51] Int. Cl. ..B65d 71/00 [58]Field of Search ..206/65 R, 65 Y,

[5 6] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,642,183 6/1953 Prossen.206/65 Y 9 3,335,858 8/1967 Sibille ..206/65 Y 2,942,230 6/1960 Gluck..2 l4/l0.5 2,610,735 9/1952 Ferguson ..206/65 Y 2,075,472 3/1937Schwary et al..... ....2l4/l0.5 R 2,984,434 5/1961 Train ..242/l342,918,342 12/1959 Tarte, Jr. ..206/65 R 3,371,776 3/1968 Voissem..206/65 R France ..2l4/10.5 R

[451 May 1, 1973 Primary Examiner--Samuel B. Rothberg AssistantExaminer-Stephen Marcus Attorney-Woodhams, Blanchard & Flynn [5 7]ABSTRACT An improvement in a device for transporting and storing yarnbobbin tubes arranged on a substantially horizontal pallet. A number ofholding elements are mounted on the pallet which have top and bottomprotuberances and depressions for centering and sup- .porting the lowerand upper end of the bobbin tubes so that a number of pallets havingintermediately mounted yarn bobbin can be stacked one upon the other.Each holding element is composed of two holding element parts made of aninjectable or pressable plastic material and arranged one above thepallet and one below the pallet. One holding element part is made of aresilient plastic material and has a substantially cylindrical, radiallyand resiliently compressible shank provided with an inner lock thereon.The other holding element part has a cylindrical opening thereon toreceive the shank, the diameter of the opening is less than the maximumdiameter of the shank so that the two holding element parts canbepressed together, the shank having the radial compression factor passingthrough the opening and snapping into engagement with the other holdingelement part through the aforesaid inner lock.

12 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures DEVICE FOR TRANSPORTING AND STORING YARNROBBINS HAVING BOBBIN TUBES The invention relates to a device fortransporting and storing yarn bobbins having bobbin tubes, whichcomprises a substantially horizontally arranged pallet and a number ofholding members arranged on a pallet and having on the upper and undersides protuberances and depressions for centering and support always ofthe bottom or top end of the bobbin tube such that a number of palletswith yarn bobbins arranged in between them can be stacked one upon theother.

In a known device of this kind, the pallets consist of a rectangularwire frame with intersecting rods arranged therebetween. Two rods arealways arranged parallel to each other at a short distance apart and athird rod is arranged at right-angles thereto. The holding elements,which are deep-drawn and stamped from sheet metal have a flange by meansof which they are welded to the two parallel rods.

Although this known device owing to its advantages has provedsatisfactory in some cases for transporting and storing yarn bobbins, ithas not been widely adopted in practice. The principal reason for thisis that there is an exceptionally large number of tube shapes, and theholding elements have always to fit these tube shapes. For making thesheet-metal holding elements expensive multiple tools are necessary,which have paid for themselves only if large numbers of givenholdingelement were made. Owing to the large number of different tubeshapes, however, this has not been possible.

In addition, very long 'delivery times had to be accepted in theproduction of the complicated multiple tool. In addition, thesheet-metal plates could be fonned only by means of expensive multiplepresses. A material other than sheet metal was hitherto not possible;since the joint between the steel-wire rods of the pallet and theholding elements would give rise to difficulties. Furthermore, themanufacturing costs of a pallet were increased because two parallel rodswere always necessary for holding a holding element. Another reason whythe known devices failed to be widely adopted was also the fact thatyarn processing factories are often obliged to change the shape of thebobbin tubes used. In such a case, the entire devices suitable for theprevious bobbin shape were then useless. Attempts have indeed been madeto remove this drawback by fitting on the holding elements adapters ofplastic material, but these adapters had the disadvantage firstly thatthey were expensive to make and secondly their gripping effect was ofteninadequate, so that they unintentionally fell off the holding elements.This was partly also due to the fact that the holding elements often didnot have the predetermined form, since they had become distorted whenbeing welded to the rods. This also then resulted in the bobbin tubesnot fitting satisfactorily on the holding elements.

The problem underlying the invention is to provide a device fortransporting and storing yarn bobbins with bobbin tubes of the aforesaidkind which is inexpensive to make and can be modified at slight expenseto adapt it to another bobbin shape.

For solving this problem, the invention starts out from the idea ofmaking the holding elements in twoparts out of plastic material, the twoholding-element parts being formed like the parts of a snap fastener,the pallet being arranged between the two parts when the latter arepressed together.

The invention is characterized in that each holding element consists oftwo parts of injectable or pressable plastic parts, one of which isarranged above the pallet and one below the pallet, in that one holdingelement part consisting of resilient plastic material has asubstantially cylindrical, radially resiliently compressible shankprovided with interlocking means and passing through the pallet, and theother holding element part has a circular orifice for the said shank,the diameter of the said orifice being less than the maximum diameter ofthe shank, such that the two holding-element parts can be pressedtogether in the manner of a snap fastener, the shank under radialcompression passing through the orifice where it snaps in by itsinterlocking means.

The entire device is cheaper to make, since first of all its individualparts can be made much more cheaply. The molds required for making theholding element parts are substantially simpler in construction, andthey do not have to be made of such high-grade material as the multipledies necessary for sheet-metal working. In addition, the deliveryperiods for plastic molding tools are much shorter. The same basic toolmay be used, but with different inserts. The pallets themselves are alsocheaper to make. If the pallet consists of a frame and intersectingrods, two parallel rods and one rod extending at right-angles theretoare no longer necessary for fixing a holding element but only twointersecting rods. In addition, the pallets may be made in largenumbers, regardless of the tube shape for which they are later to beused, and not until later are the holding elements,

adapted to the particular tube shape, fixed to the pallet by simplepressing together of their parts. It is hereby possible to supply thedevice according to the invention also in small numbers, for example fora trial run, because it is possible for this purpose to connect thealready prepared pallets by means of the holding elements adapted to thebobbin shape. Even in the case of small numbers, the cost of making theplastic molding tool pays for itself. It is, however, in particularimportant to emphasize the advantage that in converting the plant toanother bobbin shape, the existing pallets will no longer be useless. Asexplained in the following, the existing holding elements can be removedfrom these pallets and new holding elements adapted to the alteredbobbin shape can be fixed to the old pallets. Finally, the deviceaccording to the invention also has the ad vantage that the bobbin tubesalways fit satisfactorily on the holding elements. In fact, the holdingelement parts, in those portions which are later intended to receive thebobbin tubes, are not deformed at all when pressed together and thushave the ideal shape corresponding to the particular bobbin form.

Further details and advantages of the invention will be explained moreparticularly in the following, with reference to embodiment examplesillustrated in the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a plan of the new device,

FIG. 2 is a side view, partly in section,

FIG. 3 shows a part longitudinal section through the new device on theline IIl--III of FIG. 4 on an approximately full-size scale,

FIG. 4 is a plan,

FIG. 5 shows a further embodiment example in sectron,

FIG. 6 shows another embodiment example in section.

In the drawings, 1 denotes a pallet which may consist of a substantiallyrectangular frame 1a with altogether four intersecting rods lb and 1c.The pallet shown in the embodiment example is intended to receivealtogether four yarn bobbins. If the number of yarn bobbins isincreased, the number of rods 1b, 1c is increased accordingly. The yarnbobbins, shown at 2 in the drawings, are mounted on bobbin tubes 3.These bobbin tubes may have quite different forms, lengths anddiameters, depending on the purpose for which they are intended. At eachintersection between two rods 1b, 10, a holding element 4 is provided,this holding element consisting of two parts 4a and 4b joined togetherin snap fastener fashion, one of which being arranged above the pallet 1and one below the pallet. For the sake of simplicity, in what followsthe holding element part 4a provided above the pallet 1 will be termedtop part" and the holding element part 4b provided below the pallet willbe termed bottom part. Both parts 4a, 4b consists of injectable orpressable plastic material, highly impact-resistant polystyrene of type247 having been found to be particularly suitable.

The bottom part 4b has a substantially cylindrical shank 5 passingthrough the pallet 1, which shank must be radially compressible and isprovided with interlocking means. These interlocking means consistadvantageously ofa flange provided on the free end of the shank 5. Torender the shank 5 radially compressible, in the embodiment exampleshown, it has four exially extending slots 7, offset respectively by 90.To economize in plastic material and to increase the resilience, theshank 5 is advantageously of hollow construction.

The bottom part also has advantageously a supporting flange 8 adjoiningthe shank 5. Furthermore, the bottom part 4b is provided withprotuberances, namely the annular beadings 9 and 10, and depressions,namely the annular groove 11 and the cylindrical opening 12, alwaysengaged by the upper end of the bobbin tube 3 or a somewhat differentlyshaped bobbin tube 3. The bobbin tubes are centered relative to theholding element by the said annular beadings and annular grooves.

The top part 40 is offset in stepped fashion for receiving always thelower end of a bobbin tube 3 or 3. This development, however, is notpart of the present invention. What is important is merely that thebobbin tube is adequately centered and supported by a suitable formationof the top part and bottom part. According to the invention, the toppart has a circular opening 13, behind which, in the embodiment exampleshown, is a shoulder 14. The lower, outwardly situated edge 60 of theflange 6 is advantageously rounded or chamfered like the lower edge 13aof the opening 13. Furthermore, in the embodiment example shown in FIGS.1 to 4, in which the pallet has intersecting rods, the top part 4a atthe end facing the flange 8 of the bottom part 4b, has four slots 15,always respectively offset by 90 relative to each other, whose width isat least equal to the diameter of the rods and whose length is abouttwice the diameter of a rod. The slots 15 embrace the intersecting rods1b, 10.

It is furthermore also essential that in the embodiment exampleillustrated in FIGS. 1 to 4, the width of the axial slots 7 is at leastas large as the diameter of the rods 1b, 1c. and that they extend as faras the flange 8. Four axial slots, arranged respectively offset by 90relative to each other, are also provided in the bottom part.

The production of the new device is carried out by first makingseparately the pallets 1, the top parts 4a and the bottom parts 4b. Forfixing a holding piece, consisting of the top part 4a and bottom part4b, to the pallet, the bottom part 4b is pushed with its shank 5 ontothe intersecting rods 1b, 1c such that the point of intersection of thetwo rods lies in the hollow shank and the rods engage the axial slots 7.The top part 40 is then placed on the shank 5 from above, the roundedparts 6a of the flange 6 and 13a of the opening 13 bearing against eachother. The radially inwardly acting force components thereby produced,compress the free end of the shank 5 radially, so that the flange 6 canpass through the opening 13. After this has occurred, the shank 5, owingto its resilience, widens again and the flange 6 snaps outwardly behindthe opening 13 and bears on the shoulder 14. Without a suitable tool,the two parts 4a and 4b can no longer be detached from each other. Theaxial slots 7 in the bottom part have a twofold function. In fact theypermit compression of the shank 5 and in addition they fix the bottompart relative to the intersecting rods 1b and 10.

For other bobbin shapes, the annular beadings and depressions providedon the top part and bottom part have other diameters and lengths. On theother hand, however, the shank 5 and the opening 13 can always have thesame dimensions. In this case, however, also the length of the shank maybe varied according to the height at which the partition 16 in the toppart is situated. If an already available pallet is to be fitted withholding elements for another bobbin shape, it is merely necessary toremove the existing holding elements. This may be done, for example, bymeans of a suitable tool which is pressed into the top part from above,forcing the shank 5 radially inward until its flange 6 passes throughthe opening 13 again. Since, however, the old holding elements as a ruleare not be used again, a simpler method of removing them from the palletis to strike the upper part laterally with a pointed hammer, whereby theupper part is split open, thus disengaging the bottom part. If theplastic material is suitable, the fragments of the old holding elementscan possibly be melted down and made into new holding elements. The newprefabricated holding elements are fixed to the old pallet simply bypressing their parts together.

FIG. 5 illustrates another embodiment example, in which the pallet 1does not consist of intersecting rods but of a plate, in which openings17 are provided. A shoulder 18 on the bottom part 4'b serves to centerthe bottom part relative to the opening 17. All the other parts of theholding element 4 have a similar construction and similar function tothose in the embodiment example first described; and therefore they areprovided with the same reference numerals and an additional indexstroke. In view of this similar construction and similar effect,repeated description is superfluous. It should merely be pointed outthat the axial slots 7 in the embodiment example shown in FIG. 5 may bearranged in any desired manner.

In the embodiment examples described, the shank is always provided onthe bottom part. It could, however, also be provided on the top part.Provision of the shank on the bottom part, however, has the advantagethat no limits are set to the configuration of the bottom part withregard to projections and depressions necessary for receiving the bobbintube. This is of importance because the bobbin tubes may often have attheir apex a diameter which is smaller than the flange of the shank. Onthe other hand, bobbin tubes as a rule are larger at their base than theflange of the shank.

FIG. 6 illustrates yet another embodiment example, in which the holdingelement parts 24a, and 24b are widened in stepped manner towards thepallet 1, this pallet having intersecting rods lb and as in theembodiment example first described. One holding element part, in thiscase the top part, has a flange 25, which is somewhat larger in diameterthan the flange 26 of the other holding element part. The flange 25therefore embraces the flange 26. The flanges have axial slots 27,28 forthe passage of the rods. These slots at the same time serve to increasethe resilience of the flanges 25,26 so that the latter can yieldresiliently outward or inward when the two holding element parts arepressed together. As interlocking means, an inwardly projecting flange29 is provided on the flange 25 of one holding element part 24a, whilethe flange 26 of the other holding element part 24b has a radiallyoutward projecting shoulder 30. The flange 29 and the shoulder 30interlock after the two holding element parts 24a, 2412 have beenpressed together, so that after being pressed together the holdingelement parts are undetachably connected together. To facilitate theoperation of pressing the parts together, chamfers or rounded edges areprovided onthe flanges 25, 26 in a manner similar to that in theembodiment example first described. The stepped construction of the twoholding element parts renders them suitable for receiving bobbins ofvery different diameters. Due to the fact that axial slots 27, 28 areprovided in both holding element parts, these axial slots can be madecomparatively short, since the two flanges 25 and 26 can yield radiallyoutward or inward when the holding element parts are pressed together.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property orprivilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. In a device for transporting and storing yarn bobbins having bobbintubes and having a substantially horizontally arranged pallet and anumber of holding elements mounted on the said pallet, which elementshave at the top and bottom protuberances and depressions for centeringand supporting always the lower and upper end of the bobbin tube, suchthat a number of pallets with intermediately mounted yarn bobbins can bestacked one upon the other, the improvement comprising each holdingelement being composed of two holding element parts of injectable orpressable plastic material being arranged one above and one below thepallet, one holding element part being made of a resilient plasticmaterial and having a substantially cylindrical, radially andresiliently compressible shank provided with interlocking means, theother holding element part having a cylindrical opening for the saidshank, whose diameter is less than the maximum diameter of shank, suchthat the two holding element parts can be pressed together in a snapfastener fashion, the shank with radial compression passing through theopening and there snapping in with its interlocking means.

2. The improvement according to claim 1, wherein the shank has axiallyextending slots.

3. The improvement according to claim 2, wherein the shank is hollow.

4. The improvement according to claim 2, wherein the interlocking meansconsist of a flange provided on the free end of the shank.

5. The improvement according to claim 4, wherein a shoulder is providedon the other holding element part behind the opening, the flangesnapping in behind the said shoulder.

6. The improvement according to claim 4, wherein at least one of theflange and the opening on the edges, which first come into contact onbeing pressed together, are rounded or chamfered.

7. The improvement according to claim 1, wherein the one holding elementpart has a supporting flange adjacent the shank for support on thepallet.

8. The improvement according to claim 1, including a pallet composed ofa rectangular frame and intersecting rods arranged therein, wherein fouraxial slots in the shank are arranged always offset by relative to eachother, extend to the supporting flange and have a width which is atleast as large as the diameter of the rods so that the intersection oftwo rods is arranged inside the shank.

9. The improvement according to claim 8, wherein on the end of the otherholding element part facing the flange of the one holding element part,four slots always offset by 90 relative to each other are provided,whose width is at least as large as the diameter of the rods and whoselength is approximately twice as large as-the diameter of a rod.

10. The improvement according to claim 1, wherein the holding elementparts are made of high impact-resistant polystyrene.

11. The improvement according to claim 1, wherein the shank is providedon the holding element part arranged under the pallet.

12. The improvement according to claim 1, wherein the holding elementparts are widened in stepped fashion towards the pallet, said pallethaving intersecting rods, one holding element part having a flange whichis somewhat larger in diameter than the flange of the other holdingelement part and embraces the said latter flange, axial slots beingprovided in both flanges for the passage of the rods, and the flange ofone holding element part being provided with a radially inwardlyprojecting flange while the flange of the other holding element part hasa radially outwardly projecting shoulder as interlocking means.

1. In a device for transporting and storing yarn bobbins having bobbintubes and having a substantially horizontally arranged pallet and anumber of holding elements mounted on the said pallet, which elementshave at the top and bottom protuberances and depressions for centeringand supporting always the lower and upper end of the bobbin tube, suchthat a number of pallets with intermediately mounted yarn bobbins can bestacked one upon the other, the improvement comprising each holdingelement being composed of two holding element parts of injectable orpressable plastic material being arranged one above and one below thepallet, one holding element part being made of a resilient plasticmaterial and having a substantially cylindrical, radially andresiliently compressible shank provided with interlocking means, theother holding element part having a cylindrical opening for the saidshank, whose diameter is less than the maximum diameter of shank, suchthat the two holding element parts can be pressed together in a snapfastener fashion, the shank with radial compression passing through theopening and there snapping in with its interlocking means.
 2. Theimprovement according to claim 1, wherein the shank has axiallyextending slots.
 3. The improvement according to claim 2, wherein theshank is hollow.
 4. The improvement according to claim 2, wherein theinterlocking means consist of a flange provided on the free end of theshank.
 5. The improvement according to claim 4, wherein a shoulder isprovided on the other holding element part behind the opening, theflange snapping in behind the said shoulder.
 6. The improvementaccording to claim 4, wherein at least one of tHe flange and the openingon the edges, which first come into contact on being pressed together,are rounded or chamfered.
 7. The improvement according to claim 1,wherein the one holding element part has a supporting flange adjacentthe shank for support on the pallet.
 8. The improvement according toclaim 1, including a pallet composed of a rectangular frame andintersecting rods arranged therein, wherein four axial slots in theshank are arranged always offset by 90* relative to each other, extendto the supporting flange and have a width which is at least as large asthe diameter of the rods so that the intersection of two rods isarranged inside the shank.
 9. The improvement according to claim 8,wherein on the end of the other holding element part facing the flangeof the one holding element part, four slots always offset by 90*relative to each other are provided, whose width is at least as large asthe diameter of the rods and whose length is approximately twice aslarge as the diameter of a rod.
 10. The improvement according to claim1, wherein the holding element parts are made of high impact-resistantpolystyrene.
 11. The improvement according to claim 1, wherein the shankis provided on the holding element part arranged under the pallet. 12.The improvement according to claim 1, wherein the holding element partsare widened in stepped fashion towards the pallet, said pallet havingintersecting rods, one holding element part having a flange which issomewhat larger in diameter than the flange of the other holding elementpart and embraces the said latter flange, axial slots being provided inboth flanges for the passage of the rods, and the flange of one holdingelement part being provided with a radially inwardly projecting flangewhile the flange of the other holding element part has a radiallyoutwardly projecting shoulder as interlocking means.